Two Chinese mathematicians, Deng Yu and Wang Hong, were awarded the Fields Prize at the 2026 International Mathematical Congress, which opened on July 23, marking the first time Chinese mathematicians have won this noble honor, Xinhua News Agency reported.
At the opening ceremony of the congress, held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the International Mathematical Union announced that mathematician Dang Vu won an award for his research on partial differential equations, while Vuong Hong won a medal for his research on harmonic analysis and geometry theory.
It is an honor that my name is pronounced after all the great mathematicians that I have always admired. This is a truly important recognition for myself, my research, my research with colleagues, the field of PDE and also the probability theory that I am pursuing. Basically, what I and my colleagues have done is basically connecting the microscopic description of everything, of the universe with the macroscopic description" - mathematician Dang Vu shared at a press conference after being honored.
This is very meaningful to me and my other colleagues" - mathematician Vuong Hong said. She recalled when she was a high school student, when she heard that Chinese-Australian mathematician Terence Tao was awarded the Fields Prize: "At that time, I was very excited and so is today," Vuong Hong said.
Wang Hong specializes in harmonic analysis and geometric measurement theory. "The Kakeya hypothesis is a problem belonging to both of these fields... I really feel like I am combining the methods of those 2 fields" - the Chinese mathematician shared.
Dang Vu initially studied at Peking University, China before moving to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA and receiving a PhD from Princeton University, USA. Dang Vu is currently a professor at the University of Chicago, USA.
Wang Hong received a bachelor's degree from Peking University, a master's degree from the University of Paris-Saclay, France and a doctorate from MIT. Wang Hong is a professor at the Institute des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques (IHES) in France and the Courant Institute at the University of New York, USA.
Along with 2 Chinese mathematicians, 2 other mathematicians who received the Fields Prize this year are John Pardon - an American mathematician at Stony Brook University, and Jacob Tsimerman - a Canadian mathematician at the University of Toronto.
The Fields Prize is a leading international mathematical award awarded every 4 years to 2-4 young researchers under 40 years old to recognize outstanding mathematical achievements for current works and future potential achievements.
